


Where you belong

by Horns of Mischief (Rinelin)



Category: Iron Man (Movies), The Avengers (Marvel Movies), Thor (Movies)
Genre: BAMF Tony Stark, FrostIron - Freeform, Hurt/Comfort, Jotun!Loki, Jutunheim, M/M, Shapeshifting, mention of suicide
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-06-13
Updated: 2015-06-13
Packaged: 2018-04-04 05:41:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,287
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4127217
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rinelin/pseuds/Horns%20of%20Mischief
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The pursuit finally came to an end, with Tony's armored hand clutched around Loki's throat, the trickster's fate was entirely in Stark's hands.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Where you belong

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this piece over half a year age, but somehow never posted it.  
> (I hate writing summaries!)

A loud crash resonated through the cold, dark plain, disturbing ancient snow caps and creating small avalanches on a few white dunes nearby. It was followed by a painful groan, slightly digitalized by the external speakers built-in onto the suit of armor the traveller wore.

'Worst interplanetary wormhole travel **ever**!' The man grunted crawling from the crater his crash landing plough in the frozen landscape.

Standing up, he shook himself, letting the rest of the snow slide from his black, vibranium-covered armor as he scanned the horizon for trouble.

'Jarvis?'

' _Nothing, sir. I detect only minor signs of life in the immediate vicinity. There also doesn't appear to be any kind of rock formation in a ten mile radius large enough to provide a proper shelter_.'

'Great, so we landed in the wrong part of this frozen hell. Just my luck,' Stark sighed checking the suit for damage. He preferred to have it fully functional in case local fauna decided he looked tasty enough to try and take a bite.

'Any idea which way we should go?'

' _I have insufficient data to suggest a direction_.'

'Fine,' Tony pivoted on his heel scanning the horizon for any distinctive landmarks. The weak, small sun hung low above mountains in the distance, creating long and deep shadows on the monotone plane below. One of the peaks stood higher above the others–its jagged, frozen slopes glinting in the morning light–or so Tony assumed, there was no way yet to estimate the time, he would have to witness a full circle to know how fast this icicle rotated around its own axis. So for now he assumed that it was morning since his HUD said that it was almost 9:30 a.m. on the East Coast.

Without any better ideas Stark jumped up into the air–thrusters roaring while he ascended fast through the thin atmosphere–and flew towards the distant mountain range. Finding a needle in a hay stack would probably be easier than finding Loki on Jotunheim.

~

Two (Earth) days later and there was still no trace of the god. Stark's capsule rations were slowly decreasing–he estimated he had a supply for about two more weeks, so there was nothing to worry–securely stashed away in various compartments of his armor.

Tony loathed the protein pills from the bottom of his heart–they always left a weird taste in his mouth–but supposedly it's what Aesir used when they engaged in long campaigns without a steady supply of rations or game to hunt. Thor explained to him on one occasion that the main component of this _meal_ came from a special brand of fruit found only on Asgard–that's why it was so filling. It didn't prevent Tony from craving a cheeseburger–or a dozen.

Since his crash landing the engineer haven't seen a living soul except some huge dragon-like beasts, he wasn't particularly interested in getting too close to at the moment. They looked awesome, but he had a mission, and there was nothing more important on his mind right now. So maybe another time if he'd be alive still, he could come back and take a closer look at them.

' _Sir, the suit's power levels are at 50%._ '

'Noted,' Tony mumbled climbing a hill. The inventor looked up into the dark sky. The sun had set about eight hours ago for the first time since his arrival, which made the day last roughly forty five to fifty hours. Now the clouds were gathering over his head and Tony wouldn't have been surprised if it started snowing. That's what he needed right now–more snow, and probably more interference with his barely there trail.

A few hours ago Jarvis detected a wisp of energy signature that could be Loki's, but the readings were weak at best and couldn't be properly measured. So Tony did the only thing he could do in that situation–he followed it, on foot to conserve the reactor's energy.

He had a bit of luck; since the weather was _nice enough,_ he could walk on top of the amassed snow instead of digging tunnels through it. The blinking dot on the upper right corner of his HUD was almost like the Northern Star guiding Stark to his destination and after a mile or two the landscape changed from white mounds of boredom to jagged spires of some ancient city–long deserted and in ruin. A grand archway welcomed him–tall and covered in long icicles glinting in the starlight. Tony took an appreciative glance at it, studying the glaciered columns; it was as tall as the _Arc de Triomphe_ in Paris, but slicker, with shining obsidian-like surface. He barely made a few steps beneath it when a large chunk of the monument broke away from the structure and fell not even twenty feet away from him.

'Fuck!' Tony jumped back sprayed by stray debris flying in every direction, the ground shaking from the impact under his feet.

' _I would recommend caution, sir, this place seems highly unstable_.'

Just as Jarvis finished his sentence another loud crash echoed at Tony's right where a whole wall of some ancient building crumbled to the ground.

'Yeah, no shit. How's the energy signature?'

' _Steadily rising, we're getting closer, sir._ '

'Show me and overlap with his readings,' Stark ordered and a second later the AI projected two diagrams in front of his eyes. The readings were almost exactly the same with the difference that the newest one was significantly weaker than Loki's average score.

Tony snorted; of course the bastard was trying to hide–after all the shit he had done, seeing Stark was probably the last thing on his mind. But Tony had lots of time to upgrade his instruments and sensors, stranded at times in weird places with nothing better to do; now his detectors could even pick up Loki's sneeze.

'Well? Where is it?'

' _It fluctuates, sir, he must be on the move again; approximately six miles away from here, heading north_.'

'Yeah, running is what he does best.'

Stark fired off the repulsors creating a cloud of snow behind him and jetted straight into the air–a glowing strip of blue light trailing behind his thrusters like comet’s tail. A giant pillar fell apart disturbed by the sonic boom of the suit's muon repulsors and Tony glanced over his shoulder to watch it crash into the ground. He probably should have been more stealthy, but the pent up anger made him reckless. He craved destruction, he wanted to raze everything from the surface of this cold, dark world, make it entirely barren and flat so it would match his equally cold and dark heart. But for now he had more pressing matters to attend to, because the lying son-of-a-bitch he was in pursuit off seemed to have slowed down.

' _Two o'clock sir, five miles in that direction_ ,' Jarvis informed updating the data on the HUD.

'Gotcha, prepare the null pulse.'

He was close, Tony could _feel_ it–a mix of anticipation and shimmering anger. He would not let him escape again, not like on Alfheim, or Muspelheim, or Svartalfheim. Oh he was _so close_ to catching him on Svartalfheim, but the slippery bastard managed to escape in the end, leaving Stark stranded on that empty piece of rock for days, the armor's arc reactor dark and unresponsive. He had to dismantle a third part of the suit: both boots and a piece of back boosters to be able to restart the reactor so it could charge the rest of the armor properly and let Jarvis make the necessary calculations for the next interplanetary jump. After that he had to make a detour to Asgard and beg the king for new fuses to the Einstein-Rozen Bridge Accelerator. It took him a month before Thor finally gave in and by the time he acquired the stupid crystals Loki's trail was long cold.

' _Target in sight, sir,_ ' Jarvis announced just when Tony noticed him too–a black, four-legged shape leaping over mounds of snow, zigzagging through rubble of the ancient city.

 _He thinks he can outsmart me_ , Tony thought banking hard to avoid crashing into a half crumbled wall.

' _The pulse is ready, sir, and the target's in range_.'

'Then fire it!' Stark ordered pushing himself midflight from a column so he could instantaneously change trajectory and not lose sight of his prey that suddenly leaped sideways and was now speeding away to the inventor's left.

A crack almost like thunder rolled through the still air of the dead city and was followed shortly by flickering tiny particles shining in the dim light of faraway stars–like glitter scattered on the wind. Tony observed Loki's wolf form trip and fall, skidding a few feet through the snow. With a dull thud his paralyzed body stopped, propped up awkwardly against sad remains of some house.

**At last.**

Tony killed the repulsors and stalked the remaining distance on foot, stopping right in front of the panting beast.

'Turn back,' he ordered bending down to grab Loki by the throat.

The god's green eyes blinked at him once and closed.

'Turn back or I will shock you again and I know how painful it is.'

This time the trickster complied, and slowly his body started shape-shifting, taking on a more anthropomorphic form. When he finished, Tony was glared up on by a set of ruby eyes–resigned and tired.

'At the long last, you have finally caught me,' Loki sneered, Stark's armored hand still wound around his throat.

'You didn't make it easy.'

The faceplate opened and Tony's hardened skin was assaulted by the cold air–once, the too thin atmosphere might have been lethal to him, but not anymore.

'And what are you planning to do, now that you have me?' The god questioned. He looked haggard and bone-weary–eyes sunken in and cheekbones more prominent that it was healthy. He didn't struggle against Stark's restraining grip, just took measured, shallow breaths.

'Let's start with this,' Tony leaned forward and pressed his lips against Loki's chafed ones. The kiss was nowhere near gentle, just an angry clash of teeth and tongues, demanding and filthy. The god whined brokenly when Tony's hand slid up over the blue column of the trickster's throat, an armored thumb tilting his chin to the side for better access. It was awkward to properly kiss with his helmet still in place, but Stark managed to devour the god's mouth and leave him breathless anyway. He forced Loki's lips open and thrust his tongue inside the his mouth provoking a muffled whine from the deity. Alternately he started sucking on the famous silver-tongue then let it slip just to catch it again and torture the god some more. A full body shudder wrecked through Loki when the engineer bit at his lower lip and started lapping at the bead of blood that formed over the wound.

When they finally disengaged the jotun tried to follow Tony's lips with his tongue, but was denied, still pressed firmly to the crumbling wall.

'I should fucking kill you for what you have done,' Stark growled. He couldn't decide if he wanted to kiss Loki more or punch him in the face. He was so full of anger and resentment towards the god, but on the other hand so unbelievably happy to see him again.

'I know. I'm sorry–'

'You think _sorry_ is enough? Do you even mean it?' Stark shook the trickster's body and Loki let him, knowing full well that it was nothing compared to what he deserved.

'No... If I had the chance I would do it again,' the god exhaled and closed his eyes ready for the punch that would inevitably follow his statement.

'Fuck, **Loki**!' The wall inches from Loki’s cheek fell apart crushed under Stark's armored fist. 'You fucking ruined my life!'

'I _saved_ your life!'

'I never wanted it saved, not like that!'

They were shouting at each other, faces only a breath apart, both flush with anger. Tony's grip on Loki's throat tightened a fraction and the god could almost feel how Stark's body shook beneath the armor.

'What was I supposed to do? Watch you grow old and die?!' The god snarled, his ruby eyes finally ablaze with emotions. 'I could never–' he choked on his words unable to continue.

'So instead you forced me to watch my loved ones grow old and die?' Tony laughed mirthlessly, suddenly taking a step back, too angry to even look at the jotun.

'They are all dead Loki. I watched them all die,' Stark's voice trailed off to a whisper, barely audible over the howling wind. He looked so lost and vulnerable standing there in those Norns forgotten ruins in the middle of nowhere–almost like a small child–but when he looked back up his eyes were full of hatred.

'And when I needed you the most you ran away.'

It was like a blow to the trickster's stomach; slowly Loki slid down the wall and sat boneless amongst the rubble and snow.

'I couldn't handle it–the accusatory looks you threw at me every time I stepped into a room; the coldness and indifference. It– it hurt too much... Tony.' The name was uttered so softly the inventor almost missed it.

'You could have thought about it before you forced the apple on me, knowing full well that I didn't want it.' Stark snorted and stepped further away. He was positive that Loki wouldn't run, not yet anyway. There was finally some dialog going on between them after all those years of playing cat and mouse. They both desperately needed it.

'You were bleeding to death!'

'Yeah, and you miraculously had a golden apple at hand! Please, you were planning it long before I got shot.'

'Because you were too stubborn to adm–'

'Do you know I tried to kill myself?' Stark interrupted–his voice almost cheerful and a blatant contrast to the words he just uttered. He turned to watch Loki's face and maybe take a little pleasure from the stricken expression, but the anguish and self-loathing he saw surprised him.

'I know,' Loki admitted quietly, hugging his arms tighter around himself, 'I could feel you do it as if it was me dying, but I was too far away to stop you then. And when I eventually reached you, you were already recovering. I heard you curse my name, so I left.'

'And when I started searching for you? What excuse had you then?' Tony awkwardly squatted in front of the god and lifted his chin to look him in the eyes. Somewhere in the distance a wall crumbled and fell to the ground.

'I was afraid to face you... at first,' Loki shifted his gaze to the side unable to look at his once-lover. A lone tear trailed down his cheek, but before it could fell Stark's thumb swept it away.

'At first?' The inventor asked curiously, raising a brow. He hasn't been this close to Loki in ages.

The god swallowed and his Adam's apple bobbed deliciously, distracting Stark momentarily. Unconsciously he trailed his armored hand over the bruises that started appearing under the trickster's blue skin from his earlier assault. Loki was still so beautiful even with the cobalt coloration that he almost never took around other people. Tony needed to feel more of it, so he addressed his AI.

'Jarvis retract the left gauntlet.'

When his hot, sun-kissed fingers brushed over Loki's cheek the god shivered visibly and leaned more into the touch.

'Yes...' Loki’s eyes fluttered close and his breathing sped up with more tears spilling down his face–all that from just a simple touch. Fascinated, the engineer moved his hand lower, brushing the protruding clavicle with the tips of his nails and lower still over the naked chest. The god was wearing only some torn variation of his favorite leather pants and an enormous, black fur cloak; the get-up enabled Tony to roam with hungry eyes all over his too thin torso and abdomen; Loki really looked like death.

'So?'

Loki's eyes snapped open when Stark removed his hand and the trickster's cold fingers lashed out to grab the retreating warmth. He was blushing prettily and with slightly parted lips he looked ready to be devoured again, but the inventor couldn't think about that. Not just yet, first he needed answers.

'Anthony...'

'Answer me Loki.'

'...It made you alive. The chase. It made you alive again. For the first time since Bruce's funeral you had a purpose, a goal. It didn't matter that it was fueled by hate, your eyes were blazing and strong. I couldn't lose that again.'

The god sniffed risking a glance at Stark's face and their gazes locked.

'So you were watching me the whole time? For years! And never came back?'

'I did come back, multiple times, but you seemed better without me by your side so I remained in shadows.'

'Bullshit! When was I ever better without you? You were just scared!' Tony stood up and started pacing, his boots leaving shallow footprints in the thin coat of snow that just began slowly descending from the overcast sky.

'I was terrified,' the trickster admitted climbing to his feet. Stark swiftly shortened the distance between them and seized the god's shoulders, he wouldn't let him run again. 'And I still am.'

'Of what? That I would kill you?' Tony snorted, they both knew he would never do that.

'That you wouldn't love me anymore.'

That gave Tony a pause and then he started laughing.

'I've been chasing after you for over sixty years. Where the fuck did you get that idea from? I still love you, you stupid asshole! Although I must admit, I also want to beat the shit out of you for this stupid stunt. We wasted so much time.'

'Do you? And yet, I overheard you say that you loath me and don't want to have anything to do with me anymore!' Fresh tears welled in the god's ruby eyes and Tony sighed, he didn't even remember saying anything like that; he was probably angry or drunk, or both, probably both. Now he understood just a little bit better why Loki ran. There were so many things they had to repair, so many issues to discuss and clarify.

'Let's just agree that we both screwed this up okay?' He touched the bridge of his nose to massage it and immediately hissed, wrenching the armored fingers away, because the gauntlet was ice-cold. 'And could we fucking please get off this snow ball, I'm freezing my ass off.'

'I cannot travel,' Loki blushed, his cheeks turning dark purple. 'I barely had any _Seiðr_ before you blew that away too.'

'Uh, sorry 'bout that, but you're a slippery bastard when you want to, and I was tired of chasing you through all the Nine Realms. You will recharge, right?'

'It might take weeks.'

'Then we'll use my node of transportation; charging the batteries shouldn't take longer than a few days.'

On impulse Tony took Loki's hands in his and kissed the inside of both his palms–he used to do that often before everything went to hell. The god's eyes widened at the gesture and a heaved sigh tore itself from his chest. He sniffed, and without warning threw his arms around the inventor's neck, clinging tightly as if his life depended on it.

'Yeah...' Stark croaked burying the unarmored fingers of his left hand in Loki's messy tresses. 'I've missed you too.'

It felt so good to have him back again. It felt like... home.

~ ~ ~


End file.
